The Internet has quickly become a popular means for transmitting information because of the world-wide access it provides to information resources. The information on the Internet is available in a variety of formats and it can have educational, entertainment, or business purposes. The World Wide Web (the “Web”) is one of the largest and most popular distributed computing networks that make-up the Internet. The Web comprises interconnected computers from around the world. A computer connected to the Internet can download digital information from Web server computers. The Web comprises resources and clients that communicate digital information and instructions typically using a format known as a markup language. Examples of common markup languages include Hypertext Markup Language (HTML), Extensible Markup Language (XML), and Dynamic Hypertext Markup Language (DHTML). The instructions in the markup language can include information for formatting text, linking to digital data, and receiving digital data.
Typically, the Web server computers that comprise the World Wide Web have files of information called Web pages that can be displayed on a remote computer. A person operating the remote client computer connected to the Internet can use a software module called a browser to view the files of information available on the Web. The files of information, or Web pages, can include menu choices and highlighted words that provide connections to further information.
Somewhat analogous to a yellow pages telephone directory, Web pages are commonly used today to provide information. However, beyond just traditional business information available in a telephone directory, Web pages can provide access to a wide variety of personal, educational, commercial, and entertainment information. The interactive nature of Web pages have made them a very desirable way to communicate information. As a result, the design of Web pages has become a complex process often done on a large-scale involving many people.
Generally, the people that design Web pages are categorized as either writers or artists. The writer drafts the text that is inserted into a Web page. The artist is responsible for creating all of the media that is inserted into the Web page. Examples of media that can be inserted into an HTML document include, but are not limited to, art, graphics, sounds, and video such as Macromedia Flash movies or Apple Quick Time movies. Typically, the collaboration is initiated by the writer who is drafting an HTML document. When the writer wants to insert media at a particular point in the HTML document, she writes a specification (“spec”) which describes and identifies what media is needed at that point in the document. The writer can continue drafting the text without having to actually locate and insert the media. The location and insertion of media into the HTML document is performed at a later time by the artist.
However, the problem with the collaborative approach to drafting HTML documents is that a typical Web page often has numerous pieces of media. Furthermore, a typical Web site project can involve the production of many Web pages which further increases the number of media pieces needed. The identification and retrieval of the correct media for each spec in an HTML document often becomes confused because of the numerous specs within a project.
In view of the foregoing, there is a need in the art for a system which will support the easy creation of Web pages of varying design. Specifically, a need exists for a collaborative approach to creating Web pages where one person can draft the text for a Web page and insert requests for media at desired points in the Web page. A further need exists for another person to be able to locate the requests for media in the Web page and satisfy those requests. A need also exists to be able to create a collection of media that will be available for use in completing Web pages. Finally, a need exists to be able to manage the collection of media, the requests for media in the Web page, and which requests have been fulfilled.